


Misstep

by enviropony



Category: Black Sails
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enviropony/pseuds/enviropony
Summary: The first time Anne and Jack return from an “expedition” after Nassau’s troubles have settled, Max stares at them and wonders why she thought this was a good idea.





	Misstep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theoldgods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoldgods/gifts).



The first time Anne and Jack return from an “expedition” after Nassau’s troubles have settled, Max stares at them and wonders why she thought this was a good idea.

“The crates still have the mark of the company you stole them from.” She points at the intricate brand on the nearest crate. “The company whose representative just left Featherstone’s office, assured that there is nothing to fear in Nassau any longer.”

Jack actually looks sheepish, like it hadn’t occurred to him to re-crate the pirated goods, but Anne just blinks at her and shrugs. “Not my bloody job,” she says.

“What exactly is your job?” Max wonders. “We would be better served with you guarding the brothel, for a start. No honest merchant ship has a woman on it.”

Anne jerks back like she’s been slapped. “That all you think I’m good for, now? Guarding whores?”

“That is not what I meant,” Max says gently, mindful of Anne’s prickly disposition. “But you understand the matter of appearances, yes?”

“You understand I don’t give a fuck about appearances, yes?” Anne mocks. She folds her arms and tilts her head so that her eyes disappear beneath the brim of her hat.

Watching Anne put up her defenses, Max realizes that this is a fight she can’t win if she wants to repair their relationship. “Some of the people we are trying to court do,” she says, “but I suppose they will just have to get used to a different way of doing things.”

What Max can see of Anne's face is a scowl - she knows she’s being pacified - but Jack cuts in before she can say anything. “How are we supposed to re-crate two tons of goods, exactly? Do you want us to re-sack the sugar, too?” 

“Is it clearly labeled with the trade mark of your prize?” 

Jack folds his arms and says nothing, which is a clear affirmation. Standing like that, in almost a mirror pose of Anne's, he reminds Max that they aren't a triad right now. They're not much more than business partners who used to fuck.

"You will have to come up with something," she says, trying to stay focused on the immediate problem. "I do not care what, just don't make it too obvious that the goods are stolen. Better yet, go sell them somewhere else. The company man is not leaving any time soon. It will be hard to explain why his goods are here when his ship - what did you do about the ship?"

"She'll limp into port eventually," Jack says. "We'll be gone before then."

"Mon dieu. Re-crate the cargo or take it with you when you go. There is no other option. And next time, don't pirate a ship that's coming to Nassau!"

"How was I supposed to know?" Jack's protest is almost a whine. "Half our spies deserted when Flint vanished, and the other half are thinking about it. Information's a lot harder to come by than it used to be."

Max allows that he is not wrong about that. Her own network is full of holes and abandoned loyalties. "Then we must offer better incentives to those we have left. For now, do something about the damned cargo. Let me worry about the informants."

"A lot of them won't talk to you no more," Anne points out, eyes revealed beneath her hat again.

Max meets the piercing gaze straight on. "No, my love, but they will talk to you." Anne looks away, shoulders hunched, but Max can see a hint of pleased softness to her features. She smiles unabashedly, hopeful for their future together. "You are not just Jack Rackham's woman, anymore. You are the one who led a vanguard for Blackbeard, and bested Woodes Rogers' strongest fighter. Everyone knows it. They will talk to you, and I daresay they will listen to _whatever_ you have to tell them."

Anne eyes Max warily, like she is trying to find the mockery in her words. She glances at Jack, but all he does is nod. "You're not just sayin' that? A minute ago you wanted me guarding your girls."

"Appearances, Anne, appearances. You guard the brothel, or so it looks to the average merchant, but you are our contact point for every man and woman we might have need of."

"I want to keep on as part of the crew," Anne says after a moment. "I don't want to be stuck here all the time."

"My dear, you'll always be part of my crew," Jack says earnestly. "But this way you can have what you said you wanted - you won't just be my 'wife.' Anyway, it's just for a short while. Once you get us sorted in Nassau, you'll have to travel to restore our broader network. And," he adds slyly, "you'll have to pirate to keep up your reputation."

Anne considers him, glances at Max, lets them stare at the brim of her hat some more. At length, she says, "All right. All right." She pauses, thinking. "Let's take the cargo to Kingston. They don't have a warehouse there, this company. And if their West Indies man is here, he's not there."

"What if he's not their only West Indies man?" Max has to ask.

"The captain all but cried when we took the ship," Jack says. "New commission, new creditors, new company. They're taking a chance in Nassau, hoping to get a foothold here. Their only other presence in the New World is in Virginia."

"A blessing, but a pity, too." Max says, and it really is a pity. They need fresh customers in Nassau, men who don't see the shadow of James Flint or Charles Vane around every corner. "This was a misstep. We cannot let it happen again."

"It won't," Anne says, determined and confident. "I'll make sure of it."

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [chicago_ruth](http://archiveofourown.org/users/chicago_ruth/pseuds/chicago_ruth) for beta reading!


End file.
